The Quayside seafood restaurant is located on the waterfront near Clark Quay, which is to say, right in the tourist trap area. This doesn’t necessarily mean bad food, but it does mean very high prices. This particular restaurant had a range of fish and seafood available live in tanks, which meant it was possible to choose which fish, lobster or crab you wanted before it was cooked. A bit gruesome, but at least you’ve a good idea that it is fresh. Most of the seafood is local. I did note, however, Scottish bamboo clams (razor clams) on the menu, so at least some of it is imported from afar.

Chilli crab

There were five of us for dinner, and we ended up selecting a range of different dishes from the menu to share. Amongst these was a chilli crab ($36 per kg, $46.80 in total), which was reportedly excellent. I didn’t try it myself, finding the selection process just a bit too gruesome for my taste that evening, but those who partook came away very happy. We also had a tofu dish with vegetables ($16), which was quite good and surprisingly hot.

Scallops with vegetables

Another option was scallops with vegetables ($22). This dish I wasn’t so impressed by as the scallops had little flavour (they might have been better pan seared with some balsamic). The “drunken prawns” ($48) were also quite average – prawns steamed with some sort of alcohol. Horfun noodles with seafood ($22) I found to be a bit slimy in texture for my taste. As drinks we took two tiger beers ($18), and orange juice ($7), calamansi ($4) and a small bottle of water ($7).

The service was friendly and efficient, and the surroundings very pleasant with a nice view accross the water. On a balmy Singapore evening, it is really a very pleasant place to eat.

Cost & conclusion: The total for the five of us was $190.30 plus 10% service charge and 7% GST (food is the one thing in Singapore where the GST is not already included in the price), bringing the total to $223.90. Even considering that we were right in the middle of a tourist trap area, I found this to be very overpriced with most dishes not at all spectacular. After paying the bill, I was given a $50 voucher for a discount on another visit – but I don’t think I’ll be returning any time soon. Not terribly far away one can get better food at a price (even tourist prices) that beats the benefit of a $50 discount at this place. Still, the surroundings are pleasant and if you’re keen on a quayside venue, the food here is at least likely to be fresh.